GROWER OF THE MONTH
Old school. Equipment has come a long way since Jim
Coombs was cultivating aboard this Oliver tractor in the
1960s.
(left inset) Pulling his weight. Jim Coombs has always
thrown himself into potato growing. Here a very young Jim
can be seen in the early 1950s dropping baskets in a field
to be filled with potatoes.
(though many of them have Coombs-made
beds).
"We had several times back then where
someone almost got really hurt when
equipment failed," Jim says. "I got tired of
depending on other people's work to keep
us operating and operating safely. So in '78
30 Potato Grower | DECEMBER 2013
